Definite Crescent Honeyeater in Florey

["Ian Fraser via Canberrabirds " <>]

Hello Pam. That's a very interesting observation indeed, though not the first one for suburban Canberra. In answer to your question (not the one about making sense, of course it does! :-) ) The call you describe means that there is a pair present. He offers the whip, and she replies instantly with the 'choo choo' (or 'weece').

cheers

Ian Fraser

On 16/06/2026 2:05 pm, Pam Stagg via Canberrabirds wrote:

Hi all,

My first time reporting on this thread, so please bear with me as I bumble my way through this, BUT I had a visit this morning from an Eastern whipbird, to my complete surprise. I've never know them to be in Canberra, so excitedly followed it around the densely foliaged trees and shrubs in my back yard, attempting to spot it as it called and moved around the entire perimeter. I did manage to capture it in a photo thanks to iPhone's live feature, and have some video footage which records the call but not the bird unfortunately.I'll attempt to upload those to Canberra Nature Map.

It must have been here for at least 15 minutes, and has just returned, though the call has changed so I'm wondering if this is the female? At the end of the whip, there's a double "weece".

Does that make sense?

Thanks for any intel,

Pam Stagg

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From: Canberrabirds m("lists.canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds-bounces");"> <> on behalf of John via Canberrabirds m("lists.canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds");"> <>
Sent: Friday, 12 June 2026 2:46 PM
To: Philip Veerman m("pcug.org.au","pveerman");"> <>
Cc: m("lists.canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds");"> m("lists.canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds");"> <>
Subject: Re: [Canberrabirds] Definite Crescent Honeyeater in Florey

 

“Our” Crescent Honeyeater was joined by a second bird this morning, and the two spent a few minutes chasing each other around the garden. This may or may not be connected to one of the birds being much more vocal outside our bedroom window this morning. I posted a recording of the call on Canberra Nature Map earlier today.

John


> On 6 Jun 2026, at 2:23 pm, Philip Veerman m("pcug.org.au","pveerman");"> <> wrote:
>
> John and others:
>
> For what it is worth, this is the text on the species in Th GBS Report.
>
> Crescent Honeyeater Phylidonyris pyrrhoptera
> This honeyeater is usually very active and noisy as it feeds in low bushes. It is only recorded singly or in small groups. Unlike similar species, the sexes differ in appearance, and unlike most honeyeaters, it is not a social bird. It is said to require a water source in a garden area to keep it around, also requires some dense cover and a good stock of flowering bushes such as Grevillea. This species sometimes joins in the honeyeater migration. In April they are just coming down from the high country. It shows the typical altitudinal migrant’s pattern, is almost totally absent from November to March, with many of those months having no observations. It arrives in April and builds up to a peak in July then declines through to November. The abundance fluctuated, with a big peak in the middle years of the survey, across a whole range of sites. The numbers in 1990 were approximately five times the average of most other years and it reached A=0.22 in July. The breeding record is a dependent young mid October Year 9 at Site 32.
> Graphs on page: 99, Rank: 70, Breeding Rank: 75, A = 0.02801, F = 13.16%, W = 22.3, R = 2.000%, G = 1.40.
>
>
> The species appears to now be a much less frequent visitor to suburban Canberra than it was in the years covered by the GBS Report (which needs updating). At that time, it was a fairly regular visitor to my place in winter but not for several years. Although I have encountered then in Wanniassa since then.
>
> Philip
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Canberrabirds On Behalf Of John Brannan via Canberrabirds
> Sent: Friday, 5 June, 2026 1:36 PM
> To: m("lists.canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds");">
> Cc: John Brannan m("icloud.com","jbbrannan");"> <>
> Subject: [Canberrabirds] Definite Crescent Honeyeater in Florey
>
> The Crescent Honeyeater was back just now, perched in clear view on a dead branch in the back garden. It was making a repeated “jik-jik” call and hawking for insects.
>
> John Brannan
>
>> I got a few quick glimpses of a bird rummaging round in our grevilleas yesterday — a bit of yellow on the wings and a view of the breast with the characteristic black crescents down each side of a grey breast (not the white/fawn colour of a spinebill). I’d also heard an unfamiliar call in the garden earlier, just a single harsh “jik” that matches the winter call of the Crescent. Haven’t seen or heard it today, so I suspect it has already moved on.
>>
>> John Brannan
>
>

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